


It took her away

by Ohcaptainswanmycaptainswan



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: F/F, First Kiss, Pre Relationship, but he's only in it for a bit, so not really a whole lot of ryan, sorry to any ryan fans out there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-11
Updated: 2019-01-11
Packaged: 2019-10-08 04:03:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17379227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ohcaptainswanmycaptainswan/pseuds/Ohcaptainswanmycaptainswan
Summary: What if the Solitract had tempted Yaz to stay behind?Set during It Takes You Away. Slight AU.





	It took her away

**Author's Note:**

> heeeeeyyyy guys. Wow. did not expect to be posting again on here. but honestly, i was super blown away by how much you guys loved my other fic. i was honestly high key expecting maybe twenty people to read and like it, but so many more did so, and left such amazing comments and kudos and aaaaaahhhhh *dissolves into screaming mess*  
> it turns out that me plus no job plus no school for six weeks plus your fantastic support equals me being an attention slut and actually motivated to write more. holy shit. can you believe??   
> so i started writing a longer fic, kinda like sleepovers in my bed, which will be basically a set of extended and missing scenes, mainly centered around thasmin that pretty much upholds canon without much alteration. but when i was writing it, this idea came to me. it doesn't really fit with the other fic, but i really liked the idea, so i decided to post it as a stand alone here.   
> ok some quick background for this fic: we don't really know that much about Yaz's life before she met the Doctor. and i didnt want to make up a character. but we have seen that she's really close with her grandma. so to make this work, i had to assume she died sometime in between 11x6 and now. sorry yaz's gran. i really did like you, it's nothing personal. and with that, enjoy!

Yaz watched the Doctor pace up and down the small bedroom, muttering to herself. She was obviously worried and even Yaz’s delight at finding out the Doctor had seven nans _(how did that even work, anyways?)_ couldn’t stop Yaz from echoing the Doctor’s concern. If this world was a trap, then she couldn’t just let Graham and Erik get caught in the crossfire. On the other hand… she had never seen Graham look so happy as he had when he saw Grace. Well, she supposed she should say he looked happy when he saw Not-Grace. How could she take that away from him?

 

Coming to a conclusion, the Doctor stopped muttering and took off out of the room, throwing a quick, “Come on!” over her shoulder at Yaz. Yaz leaped off the bed where the Doctor had pushed her (god, she wished she had said that in another context), following close behind. The Doctor’s coat flapped urgently as the they ran back down to the yard, Yaz’s fear mirroring the Doctor’s.

 

“Graham!”

 

He turned, looking lost. Not-Grace stood by him, looking politely confused as the Doctor skidded to a halt.

 

“Graham! We have to go. Hi Grace! That’s not Grace. No offence, Grace.”

 

Yaz came to a halt just behind her, panting slightly more than she wanted to admit. While she didn’t look extremely athletic, the Doctor could really run.

 

“Doc, I don’t know what you mean,” said Graham slowly. “It is Grace. It is! Look at her!”

 

“It’s not,” said the Doctor urgently. “Graham, this place is a trap. We have to leave. Now.”

 

“Graham, come on,” said Yaz as he hesitated. “We have to get back to Ryan.”

 

“Right,” he responded, still speaking in that slow and confused voice. “Ryan.”

 

As the Doctor hurried him back upstairs, Not-Grace put a hand on Yaz’s arm, holding her back briefly before she could join the others.

 

“Yaz, he doesn’t have to leave,” Not-Grace said. “He’s happy here. You don’t have to leave either, if you don’t want. You could be happy here too.”

 

Yaz freed her arm from Not-Grace’s grip, shaking her head. “No. No, I couldn’t. I don’t really understand what this place is, but the Doctor thinks we’re in danger. And I trust the Doctor.”

 

_And even if you could tempt me, I can’t leave her._

 

Running back into the attic bedroom, Yaz joined the Doctor at the mirror as she scanned it with her sonic screwdriver. Erik stood clutching desperately to his wife, Graham mirroring his pose. Ignoring the couples behind her, the Doctor flipped her screwdriver off with an angry buzz and a huff.

 

“It’s not working, Yaz. The portal won’t open back up. It’s like the Solitract is trying to keep us here.”

 

Yaz felt the fear streaming off the Doctor even more. Desperately trying to remember an old TV show her parents had once shown her, Yaz frowned. “Couldn’t you try to reverse the polarity or something to get it open?”

 

The Doctor turned to her in surprise, a smile lighting up her face. “Yasmin Khan,” she said in a bright tone that made Yaz wish she and the Doctor were the only two people in the room. “You speak my language.”

 

Yaz ignored the butterflies in her stomach as the Doctor excitedly turned back to the mirror.

 

“And… I think… I’ve got i-”

 

“Wait!”

 

Not-Grace and Not-Trine looked panicked as their husbands looked on in surprise. The Doctor made a noise of disgust at her broken concentration.

 

“What now?” said the Doctor, exasperated. But the two only had eyes for Yaz. Uncomfortable with the increased scrutiny, Yaz shifted under their gaze.

 

“There’s someone here for you too,” said Not-Grace.

 

“What?” said the Doctor. “Oh, come on, stop trying to get us to stay. We’re leaving, nothing you can do to stop us. Sorry! Stop attempting to…”

 

Yaz was dimly aware that Doctor was still talking. She knew she should listen, and she knew she should agree. But escape suddenly felt less important as a new person walked in. A person Yaz thought she would never see again but had once been the most important woman in her life.

 

“Gran?”

 

Her grandmother opened up her arms. “My favorite granddaughter. Look how you’ve grown.”

 

Yaz teetered forward a few steps, feeling like a dream come true, ready to collapse into her grandmother’s loving arms. The world faded to just the two of them, reunited at last.

 

Suddenly, a pair of hands painfully gripped her arms, bringing her to a halt. Yaz strained against them, longing to reach only person here who truly loved her. The only person who could bring her happiness. The person she could never leave.

 

The Doctor’s face swam into view, a few inches from her own. Yaz blinked. She had placed herself in front of Yaz, holding her back from taking another step.

 

“Yaz, listen to me,” she said, staring into Yaz’s eyes. “Yaz, that’s not your gran. Yaz!”

 

“Yaz,” said Umbrine softly. “Yaz, it’s me.”

 

“It’s my grandmother, Doctor,” Yaz desperately said. “You remember my grandmother.”

 

“It’s not, Yaz. I’m so sorry, I wish it was, but it’s not. It’s the Solitract. Please Yaz, snap out of it,” the Doctor begged. Yaz shook her head slowly. Suddenly, the Doctor’s bruising grip disappeared from Yaz’s arms as she spun towards Graham. Freed, Yaz stumblingly completed her journey into her grandmother’s soft and loving embrace.

 

“Graham! Remember Ryan. Ryan could be in danger!” The Doctor shook him slightly.

 

“Ryan…” Graham repeated again. He stared back at her blankly.

 

“Don’t listen to her, love,” said Grace. “You don’t have to leave. We can be happy here.”

 

Yaz agreed silently, snuggled into Umbrine’s arms. They could be happy here. They _all_ could be happy here. A little voice started screaming in her head, but Yaz angrily pushed it down. Who cared about Ryan, anyways?

 

“But Ryan could be in danger…” said Graham.

 

Grace put a hand under his chin, turning his head to face her. “Ryan will be okay, love. He can fend for himself. And you and I can be together. Always.”

 

Graham pulled away, stumbling and shaking his head as if to clear a fog from it. Suddenly, he froze, a look of horror on his face. “Grace would never abandon Ryan if he was in danger. She died to save him. If she thought he might be in danger, she would shatter that mirror and get back to him, whatever it took.” He took a deep breath. “You’re not Grace.”

 

The Doctor whooped. “Welcome back, Graham!”

 

Yaz frowned. The Doctor’s loud voice rattled through her head, creating a sudden sense of urgency. Then Umbrine tightened her grip on Yaz and, just as suddenly as it had come, the feeling faded away.   


An earthquake hit, knocking everyone off balance. Yaz fell out of Umbrine’s grip to her knees, dazed by the shaking. Suddenly, Not-Grace’s features saddened and hardened. With a movement too quick for Yaz to fully register, she pushed Graham into the mirror. He flew backwards and disappeared, leaving only a ripple behind.

 

“Ha!” the Doctor gleefully shouted. “So that’s how we get out.” She turned to Erik. “Erik, look what happened when Graham rejected this reality. It could no longer keep him. You have to reject it too.”

 

Erik looked at the Doctor then looked at his wife. Trine stared back, silently imploring him. He looked back at the Doctor. “I can’t leave her. Not again.”

 

Suddenly, the Doctor slapped him. Erik’s head whipped back with the force, a red mark already blooming across one cheek. Umbrine gasped as Yaz bit back a laugh.

 

“What type of parent are you?” demanded the Doctor. “You left your blind daughter, alone and terrified, and convinced her there’s a monster on the loose. You can’t be bothered to go back to her, even though she already lost a parent.” She stepped closer to Erik, forcing him to stare into her steely eyes. “You would make her an orphan because you’re too weak to give up a fake version of your wife.”

 

Erik pushed her away heatedly, clinging to Trine. “And I suppose you know all there is to parenting?”

 

“No,” said the Doctor, unyieldingly stepping back to her original position to glare at him again. “But I was abandoned by my parents when I was eight. Sent away to an academy, supposedly for my own good. So I could learn the secrets of time and space. But no matter their reasons, they still abandoned me. Like you’re abandoning Hanne. I know how Hanne feels. Do you? She feels lost. She feels betrayed.” The Doctor paused, searching his eyes. Against her better judgement, Yaz got to her feet and took a step closer to the Doctor, drawn in by the pain in her words. Her heart broke. “And she’ll feel that way for the rest of her life if you don’t leave here. Right. Now.”

 

Erik wavered, his body slumping under the weight of the Doctor’s words. Trine gripped his arm tighter.

 

“Erik. Erik, don’t. Don’t leave me. We can be happy here.”

 

Umbrine placed a hand on Yaz’s shoulder, drawing her back into her warmth. A fog descended back over Yaz’s mind, her heartbreak forgotten in an instant. Why had she been sad, again?

 

Erik gripped Trine by the arm, a torturous look on his face. “I love you, Trine.”

 

She put a hand over his, gripping so tightly that Yaz could see her knuckles whiten from across the room. “Don’t do this, please, don’t, I love you, please Erik, I’m begging you, don’t leave me, don’t-”

 

He wrenched his hand away from Trine’s grip. “She’s right. I have to go back to Hanne. You… you’re not real, my love.”

 

Another earthquake shook the universe, knocking everyone off their balance again. Not-Trine stood stoically through it, then made the same gesture as Not-Grace. Erik flew back through the air into the mirror, leaving only the Doctor, Yaz, and Umbrine in the room.

 

Yaz blinked, confused. Wait. Where had Not-Grace and Not-Trine gone?

 

The Doctor regained her balance then punched the air in excitement.

 

“Ha!”

 

Yaz grinned in response, like she always inadvertently did whenever the Doctor was happy. The Doctor turned to her again, a smile lighting up her face as she saw Yaz grinning. As Umbrine pulled Yaz back within the protective circle of her arms, though, the smile died, replaced by a look of urgency Yaz had never seen the Doctor direct at her.

 

“Yaz. Yaz, you have to listen to me,” said the Doctor. Her coat flapped as she ran the couple of steps to Yaz. Coming to a skidding stop, the Doctor grabbed Yaz’s shoulders again, pulling her out of Umbrine’s embrace and searching her eyes desperately. “Yaz, it’s just us now. We have to go too. This reality can’t contain both of us. It’s going to collapse and we need to get out _now_.”

 

As if to prove her point, an earthquake punctured her words. But this time, steadied by the Doctor, Yaz didn’t fall. She opened her mouth, about to agree. Then Umbrine tightened her grip on Yaz’s hand and Yaz remembered. She remembered Umbrine braiding her hair as a child, fingers gentle as she combed through Yaz’s thick, black mane. She remembered those late nights that Umbrine held her, as Yaz cried because of how mean children could be to other kids who were different. She remembered those secretive smiles Umbrine gave her when she slipped Yaz a candy after her mother told her no. She remembered the day Umbrine had given her Prem’s watch, currently carefully stowed in Yaz’s room to protect it against all damage. And she remembered the day Umbrine had died, sun shining mockingly as Yaz wondered why the entire world didn’t weep with the loss of her grandmother, someone who had loved her so unconditionally.

 

She couldn’t lose her again. Not even for the woman she had fallen in love with.

 

“Doctor… didn’t you say that this universe could sustain one person?” she asked desperately.

 

“Yes, I did. But I don’t think so anymore. We’re totally incompatible now. This entire universe is collapsing, and we have to leave now. If someone stays behind, they could be lost. Forever.”

 

Yaz looked between the Doctor and her grandmother, torn.

 

“Yaz, we can build a life here,” said Umbrine softly. “We can bring the rest of your family here. We can be a family again. Forever.”

 

“Yaz, you can’t,” said the Doctor, her eyes pleading. “You have to get back to your real family. I promised. That is not your real grandmother. That’s an alien impersonating her. It won’t be the same, even if you did stay. And…” She took a breath. “Yaz, I can’t lose you. _We_ can’t lose you. Team TARDIS wouldn’t be the same without you.”

 

Yaz lifted a hand to the Doctor’s face. Her skin was warm and silky soft, like Yaz had always imagined. Stirrings of feelings came bubbling to the surface of her mind, feelings of love for this impossible Doctor who had literally crashed into her life. Then she dropped it.

 

“I’m sorry, Doctor,” she whispered. “I have to stay.”

 

Suddenly, the Doctor wrenched Yaz away from her grandmother, ignoring Yaz’s cry of physical pain and emotional hurt as Umbrine’s hand slipped through hers. Placing Yaz firmly behind her, the Doctor faced Umbrine as the earthquakes got stronger and stronger. Staring at her granddaughter, Umbrine took a step closer, holding out her hand.

 

“Congratulations,” the Doctor said derisively. “You’ve managed to convince the best person I know to stay with you. But let me ask you this. You can only keep one person here without this reality collapsing. And I won’t leave without Yaz. But are you sure that _you_ want her?”

 

Umbrine’s gaze snapped to the Doctor. While Yaz and the Doctor both struggled to stay balanced, Umbrine seemed unaffected. The Doctor grinned at Umbrine’s interest.

 

“You don’t want just a family. You want an entire universe. An eternity of time and space. And Yaz has seen some of it. But I’ve seen all of it.” The Doctor took a step to bring herself within a foot of Umbrine, staring at her with daggers in her eyes. “She’s only nineteen. She’s barely old enough to vote or to have a job or to drink. I’ve got two thousand years and twelve lifetimes on her. I’ve seen planets and civilizations rise and fall. I’ve seen stars born and die. I’ve loved more. I’ve lost more. I’m an entire universe in one body. You want someone?”

 

The fog disappeared from Yaz’s mind, and she could finally think clearly. Yaz wanted to scream. She wanted to tell the Doctor to stop. She wanted her to get out. But she could only stand, frozen.

 

“Take me.”

 

And suddenly, Yaz was flying through space, tumbling out of the mirror into the antizone, tumbling back through a mirror into a bedroom filled with Ryan, Graham, Hanne, and Erik.

 

“Yaz! Yaz, are you alright?” Ryan ran over to her, helping her to her feet. “Yaz, where’s the Doctor?”

 

She stared at him in horror, unable to answer. Then she wrenched herself from his grip, flying back to pound on the mirror in desperation.

 

“Take me back, take me back, take me back!”

 

But the mirror was hard and unyielding, displaying only her tear-streaked reflection. Sobbing, she sank to the ground, still pounding weakly on the mirror. Ryan gently drew her away from it, enfolding her in a hug as she sobbed into his shoulder.

 

“She’s gone, Ryan. She’s gone, and it’s all my fault, it’s all my fault… I loved her and I let her die. It took her away, she’s gone…” Her words distorted through her tears, Yaz couldn’t bring herself to say any more. All she could do was continue to soak Ryan’s shirt. Dimly, she was aware of Graham coming to put a hand on her shoulder.

 

“It’s not your fault, Yaz,” he said gently. “That place… it messed with all of our heads. It felt so warm and comfortable when they touched you. I would have done almost anything to stay with Grace. Whatever happened, it’s not your fault.”

 

She shook her head. She didn’t have the strength to tell him that she had been too weak to resist, even though she had seen everyone else reject the fantasy. She was too selfish to give up her grandmother. So she had given up the Doctor instead.

 

And she had lost both anyway.

 

Long minutes passed as she cried into Ryan’s shirt. She didn’t think she could ever move again.

 

“ _Look_ ,” Ryan shouted suddenly. He pushed her head up, forcing her to look at the mirror again. The mirror that suddenly started to ripple and buckle.

 

The mirror that suddenly spat the Doctor out onto the floor.

 

Graham gave a wordless shout of surprise as the Doctor quickly bounded to her feet and turned her sonic screwdriver on the mirror. It shattered with a pleasant tinkle that mocked how much pain had come from it.

 

“Right! That was fun. Made a new friend, fam, but I must say, I’m glad to be – _oof_.”

 

The Doctor cut off as Yaz barreled into her, holding on for dear life. As the Doctor staggered back a few steps to keep her balance, Yaz burst into fresh tears. Gently, the Doctor lifted her arms up to cradle Yaz, holding her tightly, letting her cry into her neck.

 

“Hey. Hey, it’s okay. I’m okay. We’re all okay…” the Doctor murmured into Yaz’s ear, resting her head on Yaz’s. “Hey guys, could you give us a minute?”

 

“Anything for you, Doc,” said Graham softly. He shepherded Ryan out while glaring at Erik, who jumped like something had stung him and scurried out with Hanne.

 

The Doctor didn’t say anything for the longest time. She simply held Yaz and let her cry her fill into her neck, soaking her T shirt. Finally, Yaz’s sobs subsided, but the Doctor didn’t say anything, only continued to hold her close.

 

“Yaz…” she began softly.

 

But Yaz couldn’t let her finish. She didn’t want to hear her finish.

 

“Doctor, I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry, this was all my fault, I should have let go, I should have done more, I -”

 

“Yaz, listen to me.” The Doctor pulled back a little bit, holding Yaz at arm’s length. Gently lifting a hand to Yaz’s face, the Doctor wiped away the remnants of Yaz’s tears before continuing. “Yaz, that place was designed to tempt you. And I know how much you loved your gran. So did the Solitract. It knew you wouldn’t reject her. And you have no reason to blame yourself for that.”

 

“But -”

 

“But nothing,” the Doctor said firmly. “I chose to stay behind in your place. That was my decision. And I don’t regret it.”

 

Yaz searched her eyes. “Why? You could have died. And I’m just a nobody police officer from Sheffield. Why would you trade yourself for me?”

 

The Doctor gently cupped Yaz’s face, pulling her a little closer as she did so. “I’ve told you. We can’t have a universe with no Yaz.”

 

Emotions swelled in Yaz’s chest, powerful and raw and wonderful. And before she knew it, before she could talk herself out of it, Yaz surged and closed the distance between them, desperately seizing the Doctor’s shirt as their lips met. Fireworks burst under her skin as she pulled the Doctor closer and closer, her only life preserver in the storm of emotions.

 

Then she realized the Doctor had frozen.

 

Horrified, she stumbled away, putting several feet in between them. “I’m sorry, Doctor, I shouldn’t have done that, I -”

 

But the Doctor followed her, pulled her back in, her mouth soft but demanding on top of Yaz’s. Yaz melted in her grasp, content to let the Doctor set the pace. The Doctor’s hand cradled the back of Yaz’s neck as she gently broke away.

 

“Yaz…” she sighed as she rested her forehead against Yaz’s, her eyes closed, shutting out the world around them. “I feel like I should give you some sort of speech right now. The whole ‘I’m over two thousand years old and functionally immortal, you should find someone closer to your age who you can grow old with’ speech. But…”

 

“Doctor?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“…I love you, too.”

**Author's Note:**

> so who else wanted to punch erik in the face? no? just me? ok. glad i made the doctor do it.   
> also... frog? what talking frog? why would there be a talking frog in this? fuck that. they had the chance to emotionally devastate us with some returning character and they MISSED IT (speaking of emotional devastation, did anyone catch the reference to another companion? ;) )
> 
> anyways, hope you guys enjoyed! as always, kudos and comments make my heart sing and inspire me to write more.  
> ALSO! quick note. like i said, im writing another fic. if you guys liked sleepovers in my bed and have any suggestions for missing scenes you'd like to see, drop me a line either here on ao3 or on tumblr at valarmorghulis-butnottoday. ive got a lot of that fic planned (and yes, that includes a follow up to sleepovers in my bed), but i can always add in more. im gonna sit on it for a little while longer to get it more fleshed out, but that should hopefully start going up soon. 
> 
> again, kudos and comments are highly appreciated!! thanks for reading!!


End file.
